Military Tries Out 4G LTE System

Would the military find a use for commercial wireless technology such as fourth-generation (4G) Long-Term-Evolution cellular equipment? A portable operations fusion kit based on 4G LTE is said to provide tactical communications, video and information on the ground, and seamless reach back to command and control (C2) points in military infrastructures. The 4G LTE system by Mutualink is currently being tested at the Department of Defense (DoD) base in Maryland to evaluate secure military communications with this technology without relying on public cell networks or satellite data relays.

The platform is enabled with tactical 4G LTE bubbles that provide local backhaul and cross-unit transmission of data at speeds to 70 MB/s. It is also said to provide instantaneous communication with limited resources, at high-speed and high-bandwidth rates. The connection is also more secure than typical cell networks and could be a game changer for use in emergency situations.